The U.S. Leveled New Sanctions Against Russia

The United States hit Russia with a new round of sanctions on Thursday, targeting more than 300 members of its Parliament and dozens of defense companies, while moving to restrict Russia’s ability to use gold reserves to prop up its currency.

The actions, which came in conjunction with new sanctions from Western allies, were the latest attempt to inflict economic pain on President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia for his invasion of Ukraine. In addition to imposing new sanctions, the U.S. moved to curtail Russia’s ability to evade existing restrictions on its central bank and major financial institutions. There had been concerns that Russia was finding ways to stabilize the ruble and rebuild its currency reserves.

“The United States, with our partners and allies, is striking at the heart of Russia’s ability to finance and carry out its warfare and atrocities against Ukraine,” Janet L. Yellen, the Treasury secretary, said in a statement.

The sanctions were announced as President Biden met with world leaders at summits in Brussels focused on the war in Ukraine.

Senior Biden administration officials said on Thursday that the sanctions had taken a severe toll on Russia’s economy and cited forecasts projecting that the Russian economy would contract by 15 percent this year, wiping out 15 years of gains. They also pointed to estimates that more than 200,000 people had left Russia in the last month, accelerating a “brain drain.”

The new sanctions target 328 members of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s Federal Assembly. They also include Russian defense companies such as Tactical Missiles Corporation JSC, which makes weapons systems.

As part of the effort to put financial pressure on Mr. Putin’s allies, the U.S. said it was sanctioning Herman Gref, the president and chairman of Sberbank, one of Russia’s largest banks. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Sberbank last month.

The Treasury Department is taking aim at alternative assets that Russia could use to support its economy. It issued new guidance on Thursday to make clear that transactions involving Russia’s $130 billion of gold reserves were also subject to U.S. sanctions. Russia built up its gold war chest in recent years to help blunt the impact of sanctions by allowing its central bank to use the precious metal to buy currency or secure loans.

The U.S. is working to close that loophole by threatening sanctions on anyone that facilitates such transactions. The Treasury Department guidance included anyone “determined to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in” the circumventing of sanctions, including through assets like gold.